Ashworth & Drake Privacy Policy

Last Updated: 1/4/2025

1. Introduction and Scope

This Privacy Policy details how Advertia LLC, operating under the brand name Ashworth & Drake ("Ashworth & Drake", "we", "us", or "our"), collects, uses, processes, stores, and protects your personal data. Our primary service involves connecting individuals interested in buying or selling properties ("potential home buyers and sellers") with suitable real estate agencies.

We are committed to upholding the principles of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Regulation (EU) 2016/679. This regulation protects the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals within the European Union (EU) concerning their personal data. Even though Advertia LLC is established in the USA, the GDPR applies to our processing of personal data of individuals residing in the EU.

Understanding and complying with GDPR is crucial for building trust with our users. This policy aims to provide clear, transparent information about our data practices, demonstrating our commitment to data protection and respecting your privacy rights.

This policy explains:

  • Who is responsible for your data (the Data Controller).
  • The types of personal data we collect and why.
  • The legal grounds we rely on for processing your data.
  • How we use your personal data.
  • Who we might share your personal data with.
  • Information about international data transfers.
  • How long we keep your data (data retention).
  • Your comprehensive rights under GDPR regarding your personal data.
  • How you can exercise your rights.
  • Our approach to data security.
  • Information regarding cookies.
  • Updates to this policy.

2. Data Controller Information

The entity responsible for determining the purposes and means of processing your personal data (the "Data Controller" under GDPR) is:

Advertia LLC 8 The Green, Suite A Dover, DE 19901 USA Email: info@advertia.io Phone: +34 657 90 39 68

We conduct our services under the brand name Ashworth & Drake. Throughout this policy, references to "Ashworth & Drake" pertain to the activities conducted by Advertia LLC under this brand.

3. Personal Data We Collect

In providing our lead generation service connecting you with real estate agencies, we adhere to the principle of data minimization, collecting only personal data that is adequate, relevant, and limited to what is necessary for the stated purposes. The types of personal data we typically collect include:

  • Contact Information: Your full name, email address, and phone number. This is essential for us and the real estate agencies to communicate with you.
  • Property Preferences: Details about your real estate interests, such as the type of property (e.g., house, apartment), desired location (city, neighbourhood), and preferred price range. This helps us match you with the most suitable agencies.
  • Geographical Location Data: Information you provide about your location or the area you are interested in. We might also infer general location from your IP address to connect you with agencies operating in the relevant area.
  • Online Identifiers (Website Usage): If you interact with our website, we may collect your IP address and use cookies or similar technologies. This data can help understand user behaviour, improve website functionality, analyze trends, and potentially personalize your experience. Please see Section 11 for more on cookies.

4. Purposes and Legal Basis for Processing Your Data

We process your personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently. We only collect and use your data for specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes and do not process it further in ways incompatible with those purposes (Purpose Limitation).

Here are the purposes for which we process your data and the legal bases we rely upon under Article 6 of the GDPR:

  • Purpose 1: Connecting You with Real Estate Agencies
    • Description: Our core service involves using your contact details and property preferences to identify and connect you with relevant real estate agencies interested in assisting potential buyers or sellers like you.
    • Legal Basis: We may rely on Legitimate Interests (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR) for this initial connection, specifically our interest (and potentially the agency's) in facilitating the real estate connection you have requested by submitting your details. We conduct a balancing test to ensure our interests do not override your rights and freedoms. Alternatively, where appropriate, we may rely on your explicit Consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR) provided when you submit your request. We will clarify the specific basis at the point of data collection.
  • Purpose 2: Marketing Communications (Optional)
    • Description: We may wish to send you relevant updates, newsletters, or promotional materials about real estate services or Ashworth & Drake.
    • Legal Basis: We will only do this with your explicit Consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR). Consent must be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous, indicated by a clear affirmative action (e.g., ticking an unchecked box). You have the right to withdraw this consent easily at any time.
  • Purpose 3: Website Analytics and Improvement
    • Description: We analyze how users interact with our website to maintain functionality, improve user experience, and understand service effectiveness, often using cookies or similar technologies.
    • Legal Basis: For essential cookies necessary for website operation, we may rely on Legitimate Interests (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR). For non-essential cookies (e.g., analytics, advertising), we rely on your explicit Consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR) obtained via our cookie management tool.

We ensure the accuracy of the data we process and provide mechanisms for you to update it (Accuracy Principle).

5. Data Sharing and Recipients

Your personal data is shared only when necessary for the purposes described above. We provide transparency about who receives your data.

  • Real Estate Agencies: The primary recipients of your contact information and property preferences are the real estate agencies we connect you with, based on your request. This may include agencies specializing in specific property types or locations.
  • Third-Party Service Providers (Data Processors): We engage third-party companies that process data on our behalf (Data Processors) to support our business operations. This may include providers of:
    • Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems
    • Marketing automation platforms
    • Website hosting and analytics services
    • Cloud storage providers These processors act only under our instructions and are contractually bound to implement appropriate security measures and comply with GDPR.
  • Legal Obligations: We may be required to disclose your personal data to comply with legal obligations, court orders, or governmental requests.

6. International Data Transfers

Advertia LLC is based in the United States. If you are interacting with us from the European Economic Area (EEA), your personal data will be transferred to the USA. Furthermore, some of the real estate agencies or third-party service providers we share data with may be located outside the EEA.

When we transfer personal data outside the EEA to countries not deemed adequate by the European Commission, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data to the standards required by GDPR. These safeguards may include:

  • Using Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission.
  • Transferring data to recipients in countries deemed to provide an adequate level of data protection by the European Commission.
  • Implementing Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs) for intra-group transfers (if applicable).

We will provide further information on specific transfer mechanisms upon request.

7. Data Retention Periods

We adhere to the principle of Storage Limitation, meaning we keep your personal data in a form that permits identification only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which we collected it.

Our retention periods are determined based on:

  • The necessity of the data to provide our ongoing service to you (considering typical real estate transaction timelines).
  • Whether you remain an active lead or have become inactive.
  • Our legitimate business needs (e.g., for analysis, record-keeping), balanced against your rights.
  • Any applicable legal or regulatory retention requirements.

We have established policies and procedures for the secure deletion or anonymization of personal data once the retention period expires. We will clearly state specific retention periods or the criteria used to determine them in this policy or provide them upon request.

8. Your Data Subject Rights under GDPR

GDPR grants you significant rights over your personal data. We are committed to facilitating the exercise of these rights:

  • Right of Access (Article 15 GDPR): You have the right to obtain confirmation whether we process your personal data, access that data, and receive supplementary information about the processing (e.g., purposes, recipients, retention periods).
  • Right to Rectification (Article 16 GDPR): If your personal data is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to have it corrected without undue delay.
  • Right to Erasure ('Right to be Forgotten') (Article 17 GDPR): You can request the deletion of your personal data under certain circumstances, such as when the data is no longer necessary for the original purpose, you withdraw consent (and there's no other legal ground), or you object to the processing and there are no overriding legitimate grounds.
  • Right to Restriction of Processing (Article 18 GDPR): You have the right to request the restriction of processing in specific situations, for example, while the accuracy of the data is being contested, if the processing is unlawful but you oppose erasure, or if you have objected to processing pending verification of legitimate grounds.
  • Right to Data Portability (Article 20 GDPR): Where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means, you have the right to receive the personal data you provided to us in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, and have the right to transmit that data to another controller.
  • Right to Object (Article 21 GDPR): You have the right to object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, to the processing of your personal data based on legitimate interests. We must stop processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, rights, and freedoms. You have an absolute right to object to processing for direct marketing purposes at any time.
  • Right to Withdraw Consent (Article 7(3) GDPR): Where we rely on your consent as the legal basis for processing, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal. It should be as easy to withdraw consent as it was to give it.
  • Rights Related to Automated Decision-Making and Profiling (Article 22 GDPR): You have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing (including profiling) that produces legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affects you, with some exceptions. If we engage in such activities, we will provide meaningful information about the logic involved, significance, and envisaged consequences.

9. How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise any of the rights described above, please contact the Data Controller (Advertia LLC) using the contact details provided in Section 2. You can submit your request via email or postal mail. We may ask for information to verify your identity before processing your request. We will respond to your request promptly and within the time limits established by GDPR (typically within one month).

10. Right to Lodge a Complaint

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal data or believe your rights have been violated, we encourage you to contact us first to resolve the issue. However, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a competent data protection supervisory authority, particularly in the EU Member State of your habitual residence, place of work, or the place of the alleged infringement.

11. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our website www.ashworthdrake.com uses cookies and potentially other tracking technologies to enhance user experience, analyze site traffic, and support our services. Some cookies are essential for the site to function, while others (e.g., for analytics or advertising) require your consent.

For detailed information about the types of cookies used, their purposes, how long they last, and how you can manage your cookie preferences (including withdrawing consent), please refer to our separate Cookie Policy [Link to Cookie Policy Here].

12. Data Security

We take the security of your personal data seriously and implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect it against unauthorized or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction, or damage, in line with the GDPR principle of Integrity and Confidentiality. These measures include, but are not limited to:

  • Encryption of data where appropriate.
  • Access controls to limit data access to authorized personnel.
  • Regular security assessments and updates.
  • Secure data storage solutions.

13. Provision of Personal Data

Providing personal data such as your name, contact details, and property preferences is necessary for us to provide our core service of connecting you with real estate agencies. If you choose not to provide this data, we may be unable to fulfill your request. We will inform you at the point of collection whether providing specific data is a statutory or contractual requirement, or a requirement necessary to enter into a service agreement, and the possible consequences of not providing it.

14. Policy Updates and Review

We regularly review and may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our data processing activities, legal obligations, or best practices. The "Last Updated" date at the top indicates when the policy was last revised. We encourage you to check this page periodically for the latest information on our privacy practices.